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Eiffel tower from Champs des mars

Eiffel Tower fast facts

Opened in 7th May 1889.
Original height 300 metres (now a little higher because of various antennae).
On a hot day the metal expands so much that the height is increased by as much as 15 cm.
On the opening day none of the lifts worked!
There are 1652 steps to the top.
On a clear day you can see Chartres cathedral 55 miles away.
Designed by Koechkin and Nouguier, employees of Eiffel's company.
Weight 7000 tonnes when constructed (a little more now with additions).
12 000 parts held together by 2.5 million rivets.
First radio broadcast in 1925.
First TV broadcast in 1935.

Eiffel Tower history

Built in 1889 by Gustave Eiffel as a temporary attraction to show off the construction abilities of iron for the 1889 World Exhibition. At the time its height of 300 m made it the world's tallest building.

When Eiffel's concession expired in 1909 it was decided to pull the tower down, but it was saved as it could be used as a radio mast, a television aerial was added in the 1950s and later the tower had 20 m added to its height to accommodated a meteorological station.

The Eiffel Tower taken from the Champs des Mars on the left and right. The fountains at Trocadero seen under the tower in the photograph on the left were switched off.

Eiffel tower lit up
Eiffel towr lit up detail

The cafe at the top of the Montparnasse tower is one of the best places to view the Eiffel Tower when the weather is bad, and to take pictures of the tower at night, see the photograph below right.

The Eiffel tower is lit up at night, and every hour, on the hour, for a few minutes the lights sparkle.

Even though I live just round the corner, I never tire of the tower sparkling.

For the last few winters there has been an ice rink on the first stage of the tower. And that is what you can see beneath the green laser lights on the left.

 Eiffel tower from Montparnasse Tower

Before the establishment of Ecole Militaire in 1752 the area where the Champs des Mars is today was used for growing vegetables.

In 1767 the Champs des Mars was laid out as a military parade ground between the Ecole Militaire and the river. It was opened to the public in 1780, and in 1783 the first balloon took off from there.
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